Welcome to this week’s ‘Rookie Watch’, where we take a closer look at rookie players who performed well over the weekend and assess their potential for future AFL Fantasy scoring. As we all know, rookies can be a make or break in AFL Fantasy, and finding those hidden gems early can give you a significant advantage over your competitors. So, without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s players in focus
James Borlase
Crow’s key defender James Borlase found his way into the senior side after Jordon Butts was ruled out for the season. He’s spent the past two years learning his craft in the SANFL, chalking up 50 games. This season he’s averaged a modest 13.6 disposals, 6.6 marks and 65 fantasy points. He was terrific on debut against Gold Coast, handling the bigger and stronger Levi Casboult well, and also providing an option for the switch and getting his hands on the ball in general play. Borlase used it at 100% disposal efficiency and could potentially hold his spot for the remainder of the year, where we’ll get a better read on his fantasy relevance. At full strength, with Butts and Murray back, I’m not sure Borlase will get a look in at this stage. However, the Crows may well prefer one of him or Keane over Butts.
Brandon Ryan
The Hawks picked up the mature-aged ruck/forward in the mid-season rookie draft and he’s shown plenty of promise, particularly when you realise he was playing Geelong amateur football not too long ago. Get a full pre-season into him and the 200cm Ryan may be the option Hawthorn is after to partner Mitch Lewis in attack. In terms of scoring potential, it’s hard to see him being fantasy relevant unless he can get some time in the ruck, partnering with Ned Reeves.
Other notable names
Elsewhere around the league, Bulldog James O’Donnell showed some real promise with the ball in-hand against Richmond, however, it’s yet to translate into more fantasy points. Tigers small forward Matthew Coulthard scored 52 points from 12 disposals and three tackles in 69% of game time. Another who, with a good pre-season, should take his game to the next level in 2024, given he has played very little football in a professional environment.
